Five months after re-election, President Obama is finally filling out his second term cabinet appointments. White House officials say that the president is planning to nominate Anthony R. Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., to be the next Secretary of Transportation, replacing Ray LaHood, who will be stepping down as soon as the next appointee is confirmed by the Senate.

Foxx has served as mayor for nearly 4 years, but just three weeks ago, he announced he would not seek re-election this year because he wanted to spend more time with his family. Among his achievements as mayor, he said, are that he turned around an economically afflicted city, added 13,000 jobs, made Charlotte more hospitable to business and hosted the Democratic National Convention last year.

Although Foxx does not have a transportation background, as mayor, he worked to extend the light-rail line, opened another runway at the airport, completed a major highway widening, improved a major bridge and brought streetcars back to Charlotte. A formal announcement of Foxx’s nomination is expected to be made this week and will have to be confirmed by the Senate to become official. If he is appointed, we hope Foxx will work towards more sustainable transportation solutions for the country.